Strip conveyer



Dec. 25, 1951 Tlql.

E. FRIED STRIP CONVEYER Filed Feb. 21, 1950 ATTORNEY sheet metal strips.

Patented Dec. 25, 1951 z-ministratrix rofisaid Ernest Fried, deceased,.asi signer -to ,Er 11 Steel EquipmenliziMfg fiflrlli, it

corpgratjon of'New York Application Eehrnary 21, 1 9 5 Q, S iji al l \lo. 145,435:

This-invention relates to a device for handling It is primarily designed to receive such strips from a shear and deliver them one on top of another for stacking.

When strips of predetermined width are sheared from a metal sheet, they may be delivered from the shear at irregular intervals, and yet for purposes of handling and subsequently using the strips, it is important that each of the strips be made to lie one upon the preceding one with the edges of the strips in alignment.

It is an object of this invention to provide a mechanism which will receive the strips from the shear, bring them into accurate alignment, and then discharge the successive strips in precisely the same location, so that they will fall into alignment upon a suitable stacking device.

The invention accordingly comprises a device Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figs. 1

Figs. 4 and 5 are sections on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1 in different positions of the conve or; and

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4.

In the drawings, the numeral I is a hollow rectangular frame pivoted at its lower end to a base II, which in turn is mounted on wheels l3. The upper end of this frame is held in raised position by adjustable struts l2.

Shafts l4 and are journalled respectively at the upper end and at the lower end of the frame. A plurality of conveyor elements, such as chains or belts, pass around these shafts. As shown, each shaft has a sprocket wheel 16 at each end, and one shaft is driven by a motor ll. A continuous chain connects the sprocket wheel of one shaft withthe corresponding sprocket wheel on the other.

A plurality of metal plates l9 extend from the raised end to the lower end of the frame. These plates are parallel to and spaced from each other to provide channels 2| between them. At regular intervals angle bar carriers 20 extend from a side to side of the frame and each is attached to b th of. said. chains, so :that

:as the chains rneve upwardly; ithe :barS; will drag upv ever-the plate.-

The bars are so designed that one of the angle sides extends perpendicular to the plate and the other end extends upwardly toward the top, so as to form with the plate a pocket in which the lower edge of the strip may be caught.

The plates l9 may be of one continuous sheet, as shown in Fig. 3, the channels 2| being depressed therein below the surface. Each of the bars 20 has a plurality of studs proiecting downwardly, one into each of the channels 2|, so that if by chance one of the bars 20 should ride up above the plate l 9 leaving a space between them, nevertheless a strip falling upon the device could not slide down into that space because it would be caught by the studs. As shown in Fig. 2, the front edge of the studs defines the front edge of the pocket.

At the lower end of the frame there is positioned a row of detents 24 (see Figs. 2, 4 and 5).

As shown, each detent is pivoted on the frame and has a finger 25 that can be projected above the plate [9 through a slot and it is normally held in that position by a spring 21. As soon, however, as one of the bars 20 slides up over the detent, it engages the finger 25 and bends the detent about its pivot until the bar is passed. With this construction, if a strip is dropped in such a manner as to have its edge fall on the plate at a point just below the lowest bar, it would slide downwardly until it is caught by the detents, where it would remain until the next bar came along, taking up the strip and sliding it over the detent, which turns about its pivot to permit it.

The device may be used to receive a strip direct from the shear. As here shown, the device is moved to a position in which its lower end is beneath the delivery end of the discharge conveyor 30 of a shearing mechanism.

In Fig. 2 there is shown in dotted lines at 3|, a strip about to fall off of the conveyor. As it falls, it strikes the plate and falls to a fiat position upon it. There is no assurance, however, that it will land with its edges parallel to the bars 20. However, whatever point of the strip is lowest on the incline will be the first to be contacted by a bar and that portion will be pushed upwardly by the bar, while the remainder of the strip will be held back by the friction until the lower edge is engaged by a bar throughout its length. Thereafter the strip will be moved up the metal plates in exact parallelism with the bars and will be delivered from the raised end in exact position.

The device is primarily intended to deliver the 3 strips in a pile or bundle to a suitable stacking or assembling device not here shown.

Since certain changes may be made in the above construction and different embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claim is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which as a matter of language might be said to fall therebetween.

What is claimed is:

A material handling device comprising in combination a plate, means to support one end of said plate in raised position, sprockets journalled at top and bottom of said plate, a continuous chain at each side edge of said plate carried-by said sprocket, a plurality of parallel spaced bars each connected to both said chains in position to slide upon said plate, a plurality of detents each pivoted on an axis parallel to the axes of said sprockets and near the bottom of said platein the path of said bars, each detent being movable upwardly from aposition to obstruct the downward movement of a strip laid on said plate to a position below the surface of said plate to permit a bar to pass.

ERNEST FRIED.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 665,182 Cooper Jan. 1, 1901 946,327 Bowlus Jan. 11, 1910 7 1,257,677 Costello Feb. 26, 1918 2,195,796 Currie Apr. 2, 1940 

